Millions pour into the beautiful game as celebrities back women’s football teams

When Chelsea women take on Manchester United in the FA Cup final today, the most famous athlete in Wembley stadium may not be on the pitch.

The tennis superstar Serena Williams is expected to be in the crowd, enjoying the match with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, the founder of Reddit, after the announcement last week that he has invested £20m in the club. His 8% stake confirms the London club as the most valuable women’s football team in the world.

It is also a move that says a lot about where money is moving in sport. Celebrities have increasingly become investors, particularly in the beautiful game – in the US, stars from the Destiny’s Child singer Michelle Williams and Usher to the actors Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey have put money into football teams, while in the UK Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney transformed the fortunes of Wrexham FC and last year Ed Sheeran took a minority stake in his local Ipswich Town FC.

Ohanian was at the forefront of this movement – a lead investor in the American women’s club Angel City along with famous faces including Natalie Portman, Jennifer Garner and Eva Longoria. Ohanian sold his majority stake to Willow Bay and Bob Iger – CEO at Disney –for £190m last year.

A recent report by Wasserman’s The Collective found that professional women’s sports teams are almost twice as likely to have a celebrity investor than men’s teams.

Ohanian’s investment in Chelsea also reveals the way women’s football teams are being viewed differently as business entities. “Chelsea have clearly invested a lot of time and effort in trying to grow Chelsea Women as a global brand,” says Matt Cutler, co-host of the Expected Goals podcast.

“You see that with the players they sign, the fact they’ve invested a lot in growing their social channels. Lots of teams don’t do that – the women’s team is an afterthought. For an investor like Ohanian, that is quite attractive. As a digital media guy, that is his background, his bread and butter.”

Ohanian made reference on X to the fact that Chelsea Women’s chief executive Aki Mandhar has a diverse CV, having previously been the chief operating officer at the Telegraph and global sporting director of the Athletic. “With a mindset shaped by years in media and startups, she’s not your typical football exec,” he said.

For Chelsea FC, it may not be all about feminism. When Chelsea filed their accounts in April, they raised eyebrows by selling the women’s team to Blueco 22 Midco Limited, a company run by Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly, the owners of Chelsea. This meant it now existed as a separate entity, having previously been part of the main club. It was valued at £200m, despite only turning over £11m the year before.

The club said it wanted to give the women’s team its own independent structure to allow for dedicated investment. But it also means the club turned an £128m profit.

Kieran Maguire, a football finance lecturer at the University of Liverpool, suspects other clubs in the Premier League may look to sell their women’s teams in the same way. “I think there is a good chance of replication. It’s fantastic news for other clubs.”

It is certainly fantastic news for Chelsea women. An investment of £20m in the women’s game, where the record player transfer is about £1m, will be transformative. And having Ohanian and Williams in the crowd today at Wembley will provide a huge boost, too.

Photography by Charlotte Wilson/Offside/Offside via Getty Images